


maybe i'm falling for you

by madameofmusic



Series: 34 Days [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: 34 Days Challenge, M/M, Unbeta'd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 09:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7096912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madameofmusic/pseuds/madameofmusic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's normal coffee shop relocates, and he's forced to start buying from the cat-themed coffee shop down the street, Catppuccino. It's cheesy as hell, but the coffee's good, and the "purrista" better. Jack doesn't miss the old shop. </p><p>(For Week 2 of the 34 Days Challenge: Alternate Universe/Canon Divergence)</p>
            </blockquote>





	maybe i'm falling for you

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Falling in Love At a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg

Jack stares up at the building in front of him, feeling a bit disgruntled. His favorite coffee shop, one he’d spent two dollars and fifty-three cents on a cup of medium coffee every day since the beginning of his Master’s had, apparently, some time over the summer, relocated across town. 

Jack stared up at the building, glaring at the cheery pink sign attached to the glass door that proclaimed the new shop’s address, and sighed. He’d have to find a new one now, and that was always a bother. First and foremost, because he was a creature of habit. In fact, he’d worn the same brand of underwear since he’d graduated high school.

And secondly, there was only one more coffee shop on the way back from his morning run around the school’s campus. He could, in theory, walk to the new location, but Jack was too practical to go  _ that  _ far out of his way for coffee, and chance missing his morning classes, so really, he was still at square one. 

It wasn’t that he thought the other shop’s coffee was bad or anything, just that it seemed a bit… kitschy. He’d been in there once, and everything was cat themed. The baristas (purristas), had cat ears embroidered on their aprons, over the name of shop,  _ Catppuccino _ . 

Jack hadn’t gone back since. 

But now, considering it was the only one remotely on the way back to his house, he’d have to brave it again. 

A few minutes later after he’d reached this conclusion, he pushed the door of Catppuccino open, and was hit with the strongest wave of sugary-sweet air he’d ever smelt. It smelled like Christmas and strong coffee, and Jack silently marked a tally under the “Maybe not as bad as I originally thought” column. 

There were only a few other customers, as it was 6:30 AM near a college campus, on a Friday morning. The only patrons were residents who lived nearby, and Jack. 

He wandered up to the campus, head tilted to look at the board. His eyes scanned over the board, and he laughed quietly to himself to see how many cat puns had been strong-armed into the names of the drinks. It was… cute, in an odd way, and he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about it yet.

“Can I help you?” Jack looked down, and came face-to-face with a blond man, only a few inches shorter than Jack himself, wearing a purple snapback with cat ears on the side. He was alarmingly Jack’s type, and the sudden rush of interest scared him a little. It had been a long time since Jack had been interested in anyone. His name tag said “Kent”. 

“Uh,” Jack glanced back to the board. “How’s your black coffee?” 

The man snorted. “Boring. I mean, it’s okay, but there’s so many other options up there.”

Jack’s jaw tightened, and he huffed. “Black coffee is fine. No cream, no sugar, medium.” He handed over his card, and then added, “Please.”

The man shrugged and took the card, running it through the machine and handing it back. He turned to fill a cup from the drip, and then turned and handed it to Jack. “Fresh and piping hot, so be careful with that."

Jack nodded, and mumbled a thank you, before exiting the shop. He lifted the drink to his lips a few blocks past the shop, and then noticed writing on the side. Scrawled in messy black pen were the words “Boring Coffee Dude”. Jack laughed, and shook his head, before taking a deep drink from the cup. Whatever blend it was made from was subtly sweet, but not sugary. It was still warm, and the bitter, tangy aftertaste left quite the impression. The coffee was, well,  _ good _ , and Jack was shocked. He’d never been one to consume anything for taste unless it was something special with his parents, but when he drained the last drops from the coffee, he found himself wanting more. 

In short, Jack didn’t really miss his old coffee shop.   
  
  


Next morning’s coffee was a different blend, more bitter, stronger, but still good. The cup that day said “10/10 Would Serve Again”, which Jack assumed was probably a reference to something, but to what he had no idea. 

It continued like this for a while. Jack would order a medium black coffee, and Kent would write something weird on it, and whatever was in the cup that day consistently made his old coffee shop look like they were serving brown sludge in comparison. 

Jack looked forward to his coffee everyday now. He insisted to himself, at least at first, that it was purely because the coffee was damn  _ good _ , and not anything to do with the fact that every smile he managed to get out of Kent made his chest go all warm and fuzzy inside. 

Not to do with that at all. 

The semester seemed to roll by quickly, and suddenly it was midterm week, and Jack was behind on his thesis because he’d been writing papers for his others classes that had leaked into the ten hours a week he allotted for said thesis pretty significantly. His defence was a few weeks from then, and he still needed to tie everything together and finish up some rougher spots for his committee.

He was stressed, which meant less sleep and more time spent in the library. Except, the rest of the campus had midterms too, so both the school and the public library were filled to the brim. His only option left was to write in his house, a four bedroom he rented with his old college roommate who was getting a PhD in Women’s Studies, and tended to want to rant to him about his own research and thesis whenever Jack was home. 

So, that was out too. Jack realised the only place left that might provide a modicum of good study environment was a coffee shop, and well, if he got to stare at a certain barista when taking breaks from writing, he figured it wouldn’t put him out too much. 

Jack made his way to the coffee shop, forgoing his daily run in favour of more time to write before the shop would get busy, and tried not to think about the thing Kent had left on his cup yesterday. 

It had said “Hate to see you leave, love to watch you go.” And then beside it, a little cartoon doodle of what Kent had labeled “your ass”, and a small stick figure in a hat with heart eyes, labeled “Kenny P”. Jack… hadn’t really known what to say to that one. 

Kent’s scribbles had become more and more flirtatious, and they muddled up Jack’s head whenever he thought about them. Kent was cool, but Jack wasn’t sure if he liked him in that way. It wasn’t out of the range of possibility, by any means. 

Jack arrived at the shop, the sugar-cookie smell warming him against the cold October air. He set his bag down at a table in the corner, before heading for the counter. Kent was leaning against it, tapping at his phone lazily. There was a cat curled up next to him on the counter, and Jack wondered briefly if that was a new thing, or something he’d never noticed before. Both were equally possible. 

Kent looked up as Jack reached the counter. “Hey. Staying a while today?” 

Jack nodded. “Have some writing to do.” 

Kent hummed, and stood up straight. “Black coffee?” 

Jack nodded again. “In a mug, if you can.” 

Kent grinned, looking a bit cheeky. “Course. Gimme a sec, and I’ll bring it over.” 

Jack frowned. “Take my money?” 

Kent snorted, shooting him an amused look. “Ignoring the fact that that wasn’t even a full sentence, no. You’re good. Just go sit, Jack.”

Jack continued to frown, but did as he was told. He’d just pulled out his computer and booted it up when Kent came over with a white mug, and set it down. The handle was a cat’s tail, attached to a drawing on the outside of the mug. In neat curlique in the empty space left on the mug were the words “I’m PAW-some!” 

Jack stifled a laugh. “Where does this place even get stuff like this?” 

Kent pulled up a chair, and plopped down across from Jack. “Internet, mostly. Etsy, for that one and a few others, Amazon for some more, and then sometimes just thrift stores. Gotta keep with the theme, you know?” 

Jack hummed, and took a sip from the mug. “S’good.” He flashed Kent a small smile, and then looked down at his computer. He typed quietly for a few minutes while Kent kept him company, playing some game on his phone. 

“So what are you working on that needed to be started so early?” Kent asked. 

Jack looked up, and saved his document before responding. “Master’s Thesis.” He said, eyes flicking back to the screen in front of him. There was something off about the sentence he’d just typed, but his sleep-addled brain couldn’t figure it out. “I got behind because of midterms, and it needs to be done and sent in to my committee a week from today.” 

“How much do you have left?” 

Jack shrugged. “Twenty pages, maybe?” 

Kent whistled low, and shook his head. “Damn. That’s a lot of writing.” 

Jack smiled, and looked back at his sentence. “I guess so. It’s not too bad though.” He keyed over, and changed his wording, and then nodded, satisfied with the result. “Are you in school?” 

Kent shook his head. “Nah. Not really a classroom learning kind of guy. I tried for a bachelor’s for a year, but then dropped out.” 

“Oh.” Jack was never quite sure what to say when people told him that. “It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” He settled on finally. 

Kent laughed. “I don’t regret it, believe me.” 

Jack shared a warm look with Kent for a few moments. He could feel his cheeks going rosy, and looked back down to his document. Kent rocked back in forth on two legs of the chair across from him, concentrating on whatever he was doing on his phone.

“You aren’t going to get in trouble, right?” Kent gave him an odd look, and settled back down on the ground fully with a slam. 

“Why would I get in trouble?” He asked, confusion painting his features. 

Jack flushed, and gestured to his cup, and then to Kent. “Free coffee, and sitting over here. Won’t your boss get mad?” 

“Oh.” Kent said, and then shook his head. “Nah, I’m fine. I mean, I own the place so I can do whatever I want. Maybe if there was anyone else here, it’d be a different story, but it’s just you and I right now. The only one who’d have an issue with me sitting here would be you.” 

Jack was still confused. “You own the shop?” 

Kent nodded. “Uh-huh. Me and Kit.” He said, and like he’d been summoned, the cat from earlier hopped into Kent’s lap. The man immediately settled a hand in the cat’s fur, and began scratching, eliciting loud purrs from the creature. 

Jack looked around, and found himself smiling. Now that he knew Kent owned the shop, it gave him a little more insight into the man himself. First and foremost, Kent really loved cats. Secondly, his sense of humor was even worse than Jack had judged by the daily cup writings, if the puns in the menu and framed cat jokes hanging on the walls were anything to go by. 

“That’s pretty cool.” Jack said finally, meeting Kent’s eye. “Your menu puns are terrible, though.” He teased, grinning through the chirp.

“Hey!” Kent pressed a hand to his chest, looking positively offended. “My puns are the best, and I will hear no more slights against them.” 

Jack laughed softly. “Sure. No more about your terrible jokes.” 

Kent rolled his eyes. “You just can’t appreciate a good joke, man.” 

Jack went to retort, enjoying their easy conversation, but at that moment the bell over the door rung out, and Kent looked over. “Oh, customer. I’ll be back.” 

But he wasn’t. Every time one customer left, another one or two would come in, from seven am until just before Kent was suppose to close. Another worked had shown up at some point, another blonde, though even shorter than Kent himself, and he and Kent had been refilling Jack’s cup all day, though Kent hadn’t said more than a few words to him since earlier in the day. 

Jack was pleased to find come closing time that he was near done. If he focused that weekend, he might even be able to finish it and send it off a few days early. He figured that was good enough, and closed his laptop, dedicating the rest of the half-hour left in the shop to watching Kent. He wasn’t quite sure why he was waiting, but he was. 

Kent was fun to watch when he was working anyway. Him and Eric, Jack had caught at some point during the day, moved effortlessly around one another, dealing with customers and filling complicated, over-sugared orders with words Jack could barely pronounce. 

Finally, the stream slowed, and it was just the two men behind the counter, and Jack in the corner. He could hear them chatting softly as they worked, cleaning the machinery behind the counter. Eric locked the door at five minutes after, and wished Jack goodbye as he exited the shop. 

“Waiting for me?” Jack heard behind him as he was packing his bag. 

Jack turned, and shouldered his bag. “Yeah-” he glanced around the shop. “I mean, no?” 

Kent raised an eyebrow, and nodded to the door. Jack followed. “If you were, I’m not complaining. I kept meaning to come back over and ask you something, but every time I thought I’d finally get a chance, someone else was at the counter.” Kent jiggled the door, making sure it was locked, before heading towards the small parking lot next to the shop. “Not that I’m complaining. Days like that pay the bills, y’know?” 

Jack nodded. “Yeah.” 

“How was your thesis?”

“Almost done,” Jack said, following Kent not to a car, but to a small door hidden under a fire escape. 

Kent stopped in front of it, rocking back and forth on his heels. “This is my apartment, so...” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m gonna-”

“What were you gonna ask me?” Jack fiddled with the strap of his backpack. “Earlier.”

“Huh?” Kent tilted his head, looking thoroughly confused. 

“You said you kept meaning to ask me something?” 

“Oh, uh,” Kent flushed, and looked away from Jack’s eyes, chewing on his lip for a second before speaking again. “Are the drawings working?” 

At Jack’s confused look, “The uh, drawings? On your cups? I thought leaving my number was too cliche at first, and then I figured I’d get yours eventually, so I just stuck with the whole flirting by terrible drawings.” 

Flirting? Jack was floored. Kent had been flirting with him. Jack took a second to catalogue what he was feeling, and realised he was more pleased than anything. “Jack?” Kent’s voice snapped Jack out of his thoughts, and Jack met the shorter man’s eyes. He looked nervous. “If you want me to stop, I can. I just figured you would have done something by now, but you didn’t, so I figured I’d take a leap of faith and just ask.” 

“Can I kiss you?” Jack blurted out, and then went red. “I mean, I get it now. I didn’t before, but I do now.”

Kent looked up at him strangely, and then stepped closer to Jack. They met in the middle with a soft press of lips, Kent’s fingers finding purchase in Jack’s hair, Jack’s hands tracing circles on Kent’s hips. Kent leaned back, though he still remained comfortably close to Jack. “You’re kinda weird, you know that?” Kent said, and then grinned. “I like it though. You’re refreshingly honest.” 

Jack smiled back. “I’m not the one with a cat-themed coffee shop, Kenny.”

Kent rolled his eyes, and then leaned back up. “Shut up and keep kissing me.”

**Author's Note:**

> There is a distinct lack of coffee shop AUs in the CP fandom, and that makes me sad. Inspired by [ this panel](http://66.media.tumblr.com/914ac9990dc2da01666c6de86d93a7c0/tumblr_nj5xvdyCX01szaospo5_1280.jpg) from Sophomore Year #8, "Parse II".
> 
> This is completely unbeta'd (because, honest to god, I finished this about half an hour ago), so all mistakes are my own. 
> 
> Come prompt me [here](http://whiskeytangofrogman.tumblr.com/).


End file.
